Swift Current was certainly a gracious host of the 21st annual Southwest Crisis Services Duck Derby on June 7, with all three top prizes won by out of city ticket holders.
Barb Davis from Calgary had the fastest duck in the annual fundraiser on Swift Current Creek. By virtue of the win, Davis wins a $1,000 shopping spree at the Wheatland Mall.
South Bay's Marg Dewar's duck finished second and she wins a LCD television donated by Canadian Tire. The duck bought by Emma Walkow of Maple Creek finished third and she won a $200 gift certificate from the Pioneer Co-op.
Sunny skies and no wind greeted the organizers, volunteers from the Kiwanis club and the interested spectators. Executive Director of Southwest Crisis Services, Joyce Goodhand was ecstatic.
"It was just wonderful this year. We were a little worried about the weather."
All duck derby tickets were sold out ahead of derby time which also was a great feeling for Goodhand.
"We actually sold out all our ducks before three o'clock which has never happened before. We have sold out before but never that early, so it was really terrific!"
While the rain and cold temperatures forced the picnic event indoors, the skies cleared so the race held in the Swift Current Creek and it made Goodhand feel just 'ducky'.
"It was a perfect day for it. We were commenting on how quickly the creek was running. We thought it was quick last year but this year it was even faster. It makes it a little bit more fun for the spectators."
Swift Current Kiwanis Club President Greg Smith was in a fly fishing chair at the finish line to grab the winning ducks. Goodhand says that without the Kiwanis help, they would never be able to run the derby.
"We are so grateful for the Kiwanis help in general. There is no way we could operate this with the volunteers that we have and we have some wonderful volunteers."
"With the Kiwanis club, every single year they sell tickets for us, they man the creek, they set up the finish line and they just do it all. So many of them have done it so often that we don't even have to worry about it. We just leave that up to them and we bring the plastic bags and they bring the boats and we are all done."
The duck derby raised approximately $3,500 which goes to support the Southwest Crisis Services 24-Hour Crisis Line which is manned by trained volunteers. Approximately 500 calls are received by the Crisis Line every year.
